Army records

[patvp1]

Does anyone know where I go to research my grandfathers army records.  Alexander McKay was killed at Mons 01 Apr 1915 he was listed with the Royal Highlanders Regimental number 3/2899.  But at his m arriage in 1910 his address was given as Queen Victoria School Dunblane and is a member of the Black Watch, have looked at various sites but to no avail...On his death he was with the 1st Battalion Black Watch Royal Highlanders...and did they always keep their regimental number   can anyone help..patvp

[ore-dragon]

Hi Patvp,

Your grandfathers Army record would be held at The National Archive.  However, many of the records of soldiers from WWI were destroyed in a fire during a bombing raid during WW2 and it is estimated that only 60% survive and some of these are not in a great state.  They are known as the burnt records.

These documents are being added to Ancestry, but you have to pay to view these.  At the moment the coverage is a bit patchy as they are still adding to this database.

There are other sources that you may gain information from:

Comonwealth Grave Commission Web Site - has details of your grandfather.

WWI Medal cards - available on The National Archive website has these at £3.50 to download, they are also available on Ancestry (not complete).

Soldiers Died in Great War - is available on one of the pay-to-view websites (I am sure that a Roots Chater in the WWI area would be able to tell you.)

Another useful source could be local newspapers which can be available in local family history libraries.  These often contain pictures of soldiers and in some cases small articles.  It can however be a bit hit or miss and like looking for a needle in a hay-stack.

Hope this helps

Ore Dragon

[patvp1]

Thank you so much for that info..did not realize records had been destroyed...I do have his world war 1 record i.e. place of death and my cousin actually has a photo of his gravesite, was more interested in his record prior to the war, as I said knew he was at Queen Vic School in Dunblane on is marriage in 1910 and had written to the Queen Vic but never got a reply.
It also may be worth mentioning that my mother and her three sisters also went to a school or orphanage in Dunblane "Craigie"we think..this was for orphans of world war 1 ..although technicly there mother was still alive..do you know anything of this...regards patvp

[andycand]

Hi

The Stirling Observer Annual People Index has a reference to an Alexander McKay in 1915 page 43 Men who enlisted. The link below takes you to the people index page:

http://www.stirling.gov.uk/index/services_homepage/libraries/lib_history/lib_local.htm

Andy

[patvp1]

Oh WOW what a great site..so many family names there it is going to take me the next six weeks going through them...Thank you so much for that 

[andycand]

Hi

You can download the Indexes to your computer provided you can read excel files.

Just right click your mouse on the index link on Local History page and then Save Target As downloads it.

Andy

[patvp1]

Am not clear on this ..can access, but can I actually read the info provided or do I hae to apply to the site to get information..I know I am a bit dumb..but as am in Australia it's a bit hard to know..patvp

[patvp1]

I mean how can I get a copy of the actual article..does that make sense..not clear on these things.excuse  a bit foggy 70 year old.LOL..patvp

[andycand]

Hi

From what i can make out the Stirling Observer produced an annual each year thats basically cuttings related to people mentioned in the paper during the year. A bit like a scrapbook. The People index file is simply an index of these annuals and has the year and page number. I'm not sure whether the library has the actual annuals or has filmed them. You would need to contact the Central Library (the link is near the bottom of the page) to find out how to get copies of the articles and the cost.

Andy